Attachment for sound-reproducing machines.



H. W. QUADE.

ATTACHMENT FOR SOUND REPRODUOING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1912.

Lmmgwo Paterited Apr. 29, 1913.

avwawioz 61 frown-M39 HENRY WV. QUADE, OF HANCOCK, MISSOURI.

ATTACHMENT FOR- SOUN'D-REPRODUCING MACHINES.

Application filed May 1, 1912.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 29, 1%13.

Serial No. 694,343.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I. HENRY V. QUADE,

a citizen of the United States, residing at .Ilancock, inthe county of Pulaski and State of Missouri, have invented Certain new and useful Improvements in v Attachments for Sorind-Reproducing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates essentially to improvements in sound reproducing instruments, its primary object being to provide an attachment which may be easily applied to the ordinary constructions ofphonographs, or the like, for the purpose of intensifying the sound vibrations and thereby permitting the use of a non-metallic needle so as to prevent wear, or injury to the records to be reproduced.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to use a woodcn or nonmetallic needle in this connection and such has been done at the sacrifice of the necessary volume or amplitude of sound which has been produced by steel needles now in common use. I have found from actual practice that my invention will not only play the records with as good or even better definition than the steel needle which in time practically destroys or injures the quality of the reproduction but there is no tendency to blur the sound as results in the use of a non metallic needle in the usual manner.

It has therefore been my object, and I believe I am the first to employ the combination of a sound intensifying member interposed between the usual sound box, and a non-metallic needle to accomplish the result which is now obtained by using metallic or hard styli, whereby wear and tear on the records are eliminated advantageously.

Still a further object of my invention lies in the peculiar resilient mounting of the needle on the attachment, whereby it may be easily and quickly removed for repointing or reversing, as well as permitting flexibility of said needle in any direction, thereby preventing the point of a needle from being knocked ofi, as it travels through the irregularities of the groove of the record,

it being understood that the vibrations of the record are transmitted through the needle thus mounted to the vibratory member and thence to the sound box through the needle arm in the customary manner.

For a full understanding of the presentinvention, reference is to be had to the following detail description and to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the lower portion of the reproducing mechanism of a phonograph, showing my attachment in position for use in reproducing particularly disk records. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of my attachment alone, showing more clearly the resilient mounting of the needle thereon. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of said attachment. Fig. 4: is a bottom plan of the attachment plate showing a modified form of=mounting the needle therein. Fig.

5 is a top plan view of the attachment as shown in Fig. 2.

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawings, similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawings and specifically describing my invention, Adesig'nates a needle arm of a phonograph, such as is in ordinary use, connecting at its upper extremity with the diaphragm carried by the sound box B. The arm A is provided with the usual recess in its lower portion into which the needle may be inserted and held in position by means of a set screw 1. I take advantage of this construction so that it is absolutely unnecessary to change the structure or add any other detail to the machine to permit of the employment of my device, which consists of a vibratory member preferably in the form of a flat or thin plate 2, provided at its upper central portion with the integral shank3 Which is adapted to be inserted in the needle arm where the needle is ordinarily held. The particular function of the member 2 is to intensify the sound transmitted thereto from the record by the stylus or needle and it is therefore made of any hard substance, such for instance as steel, hard Wood, cane, bamboo, metal, bone, glass, oyster shell, ivory, amher, or other compositions or combinations of material, and the shape of the plate depending somewhat upon the material used. However, it has been found from practice that the material used in the manufacture of pearl buttons, produces the best results. As this plate may be constructed in many ways and various means for holding the stylus may be used, only a preferred construction is described which involves the use of a pair of. spring members of similar construcof hard wood, as distinguished from the flexible wooden or fiber needles at present in use and directly connected with the needle arm. The needle 6 being heavy or nonflexible intensifies and transmits the vibrations to the plate 2 interposed between said needle and the arm without loss of power and the springs 4 between which it is inserted hold it flexibly to preserve its point. The hard substance from which the plate 2 is made vibrates so easily that'practically the full power of the vibrations is transmitted to the diaphragm of the sound box.

I have illustrated the particular form of needle in the drawings as triangular in shape and one side of which rests against the plate while the springs 4 rest a ainst the needle on its other sides, as shown 1n Fig. 2, the needle being frictionally held by means of tension of'the springs which permit it to yield in any direction.

In Fig. 4, I have shown the body or plate 2 as provided with a wedge-shaped slot and into this slot. the needle may ybe advantageously held for the purposes of this invention. When the needle is thus held, it is preferable that the shank I) be secured to a flexible spring member 4* intermediate the" ends of the latter, screws 5 passing through the opposite ends of said spring and into the vibratory member 2". This allows the needle point some freedom of movement.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimedas new is: i

1. In combination, an attachment for sound reproducing machines consisting-of a I flat body and a shank, a sound box to which the attachment is detachably connected, a

needle adapted to rest against the body, and

spring means secured to the body adapted,

to frictionally hold the needle the'rea ainst.

2. An attachment for sound repro ucing machines consisting of a fiat body and a shank, a needle adapted to rest against the body, and spaced spring members secured at one end to the body and adapted to reinpresence of two witnesses.

HENRY W. QUADEQ Witnesses:

M. O. MITCHELL, ARTHUR ALEXANDER. 

